itch.io

Oh no, you’ve got it all wrong, my friend, every solution is elegant! 😄 If you managed to solve most of them, you’re officially part of a very excellent club.

Thank you so much for playing! I’m really glad you enjoyed the game and the not-quite-finished narration. It means a lot!

I think you did very well!

Yes yes, I totally agree, I definitely missed the mark on difficulty for a game jam 😅 Also, I had no idea there's a whole "connect houses with electricity" genre, I genuinely thought I came up with something original! Guess I accidentally reinvented old idea.

As for the hitboxes, yeah… I might’ve wandered a bit into rage-quit territory there. 😬 All the levels are doable, but some definitely require a  mix of clever thinking and hand precision. Not ideal for casual jam play, I admit. I really enjoyed working on the game, though. And I’d love to fix the bugs and maybe scale the difficulty a bit better. Hopefully I’ll find the energy for some post-jam updates, for the tiny group who stumbles across it later and gives it a go 😄

Thanks so much for playing and leaving feedback. I really appreciate it, and I hope you had a good time with it!

Thank you! I really appreciate you giving it a try after seeing it on stream. 😊

Looking back, I totally agree, the game ended up being a bit too tough for a jam entry. I got caught in the dev flow and didn’t fully realize how demanding it became, especially with the speed and mouse precision. Lesson learned, difficulty slider to accompany a skip level button is going in next time lol!

I'm super happy Mark played it on stream, even if he didn’t have the patience for it in the moment (which I get, must be really stressful trying to get through so many games live). Thank you for bringing that up. I hope people who were intrigued by it might come back to it later. I had a blast working on it, and I’d love to polish the level design, smooth out the difficulty curve, and finish the voiceovers I didn’t have time to record before the deadline.

Thanks again for the kind words and the feedback! 

Oh hey, I’ve already seen this one elsewhere! You know, getting a bit philosophical here… it’s funny how the “Loop” theme naturally leads so many of us to think about celestial bodies, orbits, and day/night cycles. It’s just such a human thing? We’re literally living in a loop every day. 😄

Anyway, onto the game itself. The controls are tight, no complaints there. The artwork and sound design also work really well together and create a cohesive vibe.

What I would love to see improved is player feedback. For example, showing how long the power-ups last would be really helpful. The bounce (reflect) power-up especially felt kind of useless, and overall the power-ups were so short that it was rarely worth going for them over just blocking another asteroid. Sometimes they even flew way too far to reach I think.

It might also help if asteroids had more visual cues, like particles indicating speed or some kind of impact warning. That would give players a bit more of a chance to react strategically.

I recorded my playthrough and will upload it when I get a chance!

What a cute set of animations! The whole thing felt super well-thoughtout and tightly put together. That said, it was hardcore on the memory side, which isn’t exactly my strong suit 😅.  Luckily, with the trap mechanics, I was able to memorize movement patterns, which helped a lot. And in some of the spider levels, you could spot the next turn's movement and plan accordingly. Still, those last three levels were brutal!

I’m honestly surprised how many jam games this year had such a high level of quality in both art direction and level design. And your game was definitely one of them. One suggestion I had, it’s a selfish one for people like me, would be a way to run the level without the hamster—just to count turns and test out a strategy without having to replay the whole thing up to that point. That’d be a really helpful addition.

I recorded my playthrough, and I’ll upload it when I get a chance. Unfortunately, part of it didn’t record properly because the menu didn’t load in full screen for me, but I still captured a few levels.

Thanks! For me, it's kind of part of the game jam spirit. I like to give praise where it's deserved, but also try to understand the context in which the game was made, especially if someone's a beginner (or, like me, an eternal beginner 😄), and give some constructive feedback too.

I'm really glad you mentioned the voiceovers specifically. I actually came up with a NarrationManager, and I’m kind of proud of it, lol! It handles two types of lines: mandatory (always get to the queue and be played) and optional (only play if no one else is talking). It also supports syncing multi-line subtitles to a single voice clip. Events are called with a signal that can be emitted from anywhere in the code, find the active scene a put the subtitles there. Still, I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d be recording everything at the time, so there’s definitely a lot of room for improving the overall workflow. Ideally, I’d love to be able to just load timing info from a CSV or JSON file instead of fiddling forever with it manually in the editor.

Thanks so much, really glad you liked it! 😊

For the menu, it's actually a shader material on a ColorRect. Took me a few hours to get it working — it simulates layers of stars rotating and approaching the player. It looked nice, but was pretty heavy on performance at first, but at the end it was ok with a bit of faking stuff and optimizing 😅. The same shader is also used during scene transitions, just with some extra acceleration and brightness added. Funny thing is, I originally made that as a transition effect first and only later decided to reuse it for the menu background. Turned out better than I expected!

In the actual game levels, I wasn’t too happy with the performance, so I simplified things. The shader just dims or brightens random stars, and the rest is a static starfield Sprite2D slowly moving on a predefined loop. Which actually fits the theme perfectly 😄

Thank you so much for the kind words, really made my day! 😊 I'm super happy you enjoyed the overall vibe of the game.

I totally agree about the voice lines. They ended up adding so much to the atmosphere and gave the game so much personality. Without them, it felt a bit dry. I actually wrote close to 100 lines, but only managed to record about a third (crammed it all in on the last day of the jam 😅). It was my first time doing voiceover, and oh boy… syncing subtitles, mastering audio (in big, big quotes), figuring out the implementation,  and recording all while watching the hours fly by was stressful. Even had to do a quick patch after submission because the narrator became unstable (fitting, right? 😄). As a non-native speaker, I'm a bit self-conscious about the voice quality. It’s rough around the edges if you cover both ears. 

The other jams I made taught me the importance of the skip button and the freedom it gives.  I also tried to be mindful of visual and audio accessibility overall, including the color palette and sound and visual feedback.

And yes, the Apple level! That and the boat one are probably my personal favourites too. Once the trick clicks, it’s really satisfying to pull off.

Honestly, I think you went a little too easy on me with this review — but I’ll take it! 😄

There were so many great-looking games this year, and yet this one still managed to stand out with its strong artistic vision. Visually and atmospherically, it really left an impression.

This isn’t usually my type of game, but I have to admit, I got goosebumps when the house suddenly went dark. Partly because of the moment itself, but also because the voice acting and sound design were just on a whole different level. Seriously impressive.

What stuck with me the most was the orange-gray color palette and the brilliant use of lighting. I loved how the lights didn’t just guide the player and keep me oriented, they also helped tell the story in a really subtle but powerful way. That’s the kind of detail you usually only see from experienced level designers.

Honestly, I’m kind of blown away by what you managed to pull off in such a short time. I recorded my playthrough too, and will upload it once the voting period is over if you want to check it out.

The aesthetics here are super unique. You managed to cram a ton of information into one screen without making it overwhelming. The research section honestly gave me Conway’s Game of Life vibes. Are you a frontend developer in disguise? 😄

The game took me through a whole journey of stages:

1. Oh no, it’s a cookie clicker.

2. Wait. It’s about trains?!

3. Upgrading trains and stations is creating some weirdly satisfying harmonic patterns.

4. Oh no, now it sounds like an alarm.

5. Why do I need a chemist again?

6. Wait... are we going to space?

7. SPACE!

It was a wild ride, and I genuinely enjoyed watching the chaos escalate. I recorded my playthrough and will upload it after the voting period.

BTW 10:42 

Nice jaming music, and I loved the art style. It was super charming and clean.

I found myself trying to build a little story from the items in my head, which made it feel less like a loop and more like a creative exercise. I’m not sure that was the intention, but it made the experience fun in a different way!

It’s a well-executed concept, and everything felt polished. That said... my top score of 8 items was not impressive. 😅

I did record my playthrough and will upload it after the voting period if you're curious how badly I did!

400 MB download for a game jam entry is kinda wild, but once I got in, I saw where all that space went! The visuals are amazing. I’d love to know how you created this style, seriously impressive work. The models, the lighting, the overall mood… it all felt super polished and professional. The voice acting was also top-notch and really helped sell the atmosphere.

The puzzles worked well, I made it through about four wagons before I got hit with a message I didn’t quite understand, and then the game ended. 😅 Not sure if that was intended or I missed something, but hey, the ride was fun while it lasted. At least I got two different endings (but not the winning one. Eh.

The screen shake was a bit much for me at times. A restart button and subtitles would’ve been nice to have. Just little things.

All in all, this was a crazy good experience. I recorded my playthroughs and I’ll upload the video once there’s more time. Game is definitely worth checking out!

As a corporate employee, I didn’t even find it funny, I found it disturbingly accurate! 😅 God bless Microsoft for letting us know when meetings start with Teams and Office pop-ups…

That said, this game has fantastic humor. It’s the kind of absurd, chaotic fun that you’d never see from a big studio and that’s exactly why it works so well. I honestly don’t even know if I made it to Day 1 lunchtime.

Instead, me and my ADHD were busy messing around with the computer, trying to delete viruses and completely forgetting about the meetings.  I recorded my playthroughs, so once the voting period is over and there’s more time, I’ll upload the video so you can check it out too.

Great little gem—10/10, would get fired again. 😂

I saw your animation on X around the second or third day of the jam, so I’m really glad I managed to find the full game!

If I could, I’d rate the visuals 7/5. Seriously, that good. The planets, the backdrop, the animations, the SFX… just wow. Absolutely nailed the style.

I love games that take a simple concept and execute it really well, and this one even inspired a few ideas of my own. I also couldn’t help but laugh at the ship speed being measured in tens of km — must be some tiny planets orbiting out there. 😄

That said, I found the difficulty a bit brutal. Getting more than 3 or 4 jumps in was tough, and I kept wishing for a little hint or an easier snap mechanic to help land things more smoothly. But hey, if you were going for a pure skill-based challenge, I totally respect that. I think I’m just being extra picky because I made my own jam entry way too hard as well (a puzzle that ended up confusing more people than I’d like to admit).

As with the other entries, I recorded my playthroughs and I'll upload them once the voting period is over if you're curious how it went! Top score, low 3500 lol.

Thanks for playing. Hope you had a good time :)

Wow, I’ve got to say this is miles ahead of what I managed for my first game jam! Hats off to you!

Funny enough, I also made an alchemy game, though mine ended up being pretty much unplayable. 😅

Every jam teaches me something new, and I still constantly feel like I don’t know enough. But hey, the games are definitely getting more ambitious and, naturally, a bit more buggy too. Part of the fun, right?

Submitted 6 seconds before the deadline. That's what I call working under pressure! 😄

Right from the banner, I got serious Ballance vibes (a game I love dearly). This one leans more into puzzle territory. And it’s super polished. That said... I sucked at it. 😅 I managed to finish levels 1 and 3, though I’m pretty sure I didn’t solve level 3 the “intended” way. I struggled a bit with that piece that flips the loop upside down—still not 100% sure what I was meant to do with it.

Overall, the experience felt really clean, and I didn’t run into any bugs at all. My only nitpicks: I had to go back to the game page to learn how to remove a piece (that info could be in-game), and a full reset button would be handy. Also, since there aren’t that many pieces per level, maybe showing them all in a single scrollable bar could make things feel a bit snappier (and hey it would be a UI loop - pun intended 😄).

As with the other entries, I recorded my playthroughs. I'll upload them once the voting period is over if you're curious how it went!

I love alchemy games, and this one really grabbed me with its interesting story and chill atmosphere.  I liked the light tone and the fact that you can play at your own pace.

Personally, I would’ve loved the option to speed things up a bit. Maybe remove the house transition animation, make Chantelle walk faster, or just tighten up the controls a little. It would also help to have a visible selector or highlight that shows what pressing E will interact with. Small stuff, really.

What I struggled with more was the UI. Having interaction and journal on the same button led to some confusion, and I think every window like this really should have an close button or support pressing Esc to close it. In my first playthrough, I got stuck behind the cauldron and had to restart. On the second try, I somehow ended up stuck in an infinite journal ↔ research station loop (which, to be fair, kinda fits the theme!). I had two of the right plants but couldn’t find the third because of this bug—and at that point, I didn’t quite have the will to start over again.

Anyway, sorry for the rant! My game has bugs too, it’s all part of the jam experience. This is still a strong entry with a lot of charm, and I wanted to give some honest, constructive feedback because the idea and vibe are really cool.

Just like with the other games, I recorded my playthroughs—I'll upload them once the voting period ends if you're curious to see what happened!

First off, I love that the tutorial is baked right into the name. So simple, so clever!

The game itself is an infinite shooter (I made it just to 42 soles!) where you’re defending your planet from incoming alien ships. It’s super polished and really well put together. The main menu is especially cool, using Earth’s satellites as buttons is such a fantastic touch.

I wasn’t really able to make a "broken" build or find any cheese. I did start to wonder if mouse controls might make the game feel a bit tighter—just to give a bit more sense of control—but at the same time, I get that it would mess with the whole “Press Space” concept. So maybe it’s better as-is.

Just like with the other entry, I recorded my playthroughs, so once the voting period is over, I’ll upload the video if you want to check it out!

Hello, dear dev! The download is missing, and the game cannot be started in a browser. 

Loop Escape is a 3D life simulator set during a cold, atmospheric winter month—and honestly, it really nails the mood. I played through it twice, but I wasn’t able to reach "the end" either time (might’ve been a bug, not totally sure). In my first run, I went off exploring, hoping I could somehow escape the loop. On the second go, I followed the instructions more closely, but still didn’t make it out.

Visually, the game is stunning. The contrast between the grey, brutalist concrete buildings and the smooth jazz soundtrack creates such a unique atmosphere. I loved it. The snow effects are beautiful too. Very effective in selling that moody, frozen vibe.

The sound effects were a little too loud and noisy for my taste, but honestly, that’s just a small nitpick.

I recorded my playthroughs, so once the voting period is over and there’s more time, I’ll upload the video so you can check it out too.

It sounds frustrating when a game just shows a black screen and crashes! I have just verified that the downloaded version works on Ubuntu and Windows 11. Since it's working for others, let's try some common fixes to get AtomicAssembler running on your computer.

Here are the most likely reasons for the black screen and crash:

1. Update Graphics Drivers: This is the most common reason.

2. Run in OpenGL Mode: The game might be trying to use a newer graphics mode that your system doesn't like. You can force it to use a more compatible one: Run the game with the following parameters: AtomicAssembler_v1.0.1.exe --rendering-driver opengl3

3. Check for Other Software Conflicts:

   • If you have Nahimic audio software, try turning it off or uninstalling it temporarily.
   • Temporarily disable your antivirus or firewall to see if it's blocking the game (remember to turn it back on after testing!).
   • Turn off any in-game overlays from apps like Discord, NVIDIA, or AMD.

Thank you for playing the game! The game was a game jam entry, so there no planned updates unless the game gets some traction. But that is highly unlikely. 

Do you have any details regarding the issue?

Wow, thank you so much for your incredibly kind words! I'm thrilled that you had such a great time with the game. If there's enough interest, I'd love to keep working on this project beyond the jam. I've already gathered some great feedback that could make the experience even better. Stay tuned, and thanks again for your support—it's super motivating to know there's someone out there eager for more games like this!

Thanks for the feedback! I'm really glad it resonates with you, especially as a visual learner. I actually see it as more of a puzzle game myself. That might be why it works well for those of us who don’t always connect with traditional methods. My 10-year-old nephew even said it’s a really good game—he managed to finish it on his own after I explained the concepts in the first few levels.  agree that the quest could use some adjustments to better explain the rules and then just give clues on how to build the molecule, letting the player take their own approach. There’s still a lot of work to do to make it a good educational tool, but feedback like this gives me some great ideas for improvements. Thanks again! 😊

Thank you! Mother nature comes up with the puzzles. xD

I still had a lot of fun with the game and I think it is a pretty strong entry! :) 

Oh, now when you tell me it is pretty obvious. I guess I was too scared to let it go near me :D

Sorry for that. Strangely, I have tested the build both on Windows and Linux without any issues.

Wild Scaled West is a fun and engaging game with a clever "built to scale" mechanic that adds a unique twist to the classic shoot-'em-up formula. Your power increasing with your size creates an interesting dynamic, and once I realized that you regen to scale 1.01 after taking damage, it made progressing much more manageable.

The shooting feels solid and satisfying, making it enjoyable to take down bandit camps and face off against the powerful final boss. The pixel art is simple but clear and effective, perfectly complementing the game's fast-paced action.

Overall, the game offers a great balance of challenge and fun, with a cool mechanic that sets it apart. I had a blast with it and it is heading to my GMTK 2024 collection.

Switching Scales really pulls you in once you get the hang of it. The concept of being able to change player scale with objects around goes hand in hand of level design, adding a fresh twist to the gameplay.

The music is perfectly fitting and enhances the overall experience, making the mysterious and slightly eerie atmosphere even more enjoyable. As you progress and get used to the mechanics, the game really starts to click, and the scaling ability of the player character becomes a highlight.

It's a well-executed game that’s both challenging and rewarding. Great work!

Bongle is a delightful and deceptively challenging puzzle game. The relaxing music and colorful visuals set a calm and inviting tone, making it a pleasure to play. The controls are tight and responsive, which is crucial given the game's unique mechanic.

What starts as a simple premise—scaling objects to match sizes—quickly becomes more complex as you realize you can only scale objects on one axis at a time, and must bond them to others to get the right dimensions. It’s a clever twist that keeps you thinking and engaged throughout.

Overall, Bongle offers a satisfying puzzle experience that’s both relaxing and mentally stimulating. Great job!

Imagine Sisyphus Happy is definitely going on my list of top picks this year! The game offers a unique and challenging take on the classic myth, where you guide the prideful king through the underworld, endlessly scaling a mountain with his trusty boulder. The game does a great job of capturing the overwhelming scale of Sisyphus's task, making you feel small against the mountain. The Wilhelm scream is a fun touch that adds a bit of humor to the otherwise grim and dark setting.

The music is nice, and the physics feels solid, especially when you get to crush enemies with the boulder. However, the difficulty is pretty high, with long levels that could benefit from some checkpoints to make the climb a bit less frustrating. I also got stuck offscreen in level 2 when I went too far right and had to restart the app.

Mouse or cursor control could also improve the precision and make the gameplay more enjoyable. Despite the challenges, the game has a lot of potential, and with a few tweaks, it could be even more fun to play. Superb job!

You are very welcome.

Stuck in Cmajor is a clever and fun puzzle game that plays with musical scales in a creative way. The stylization is nice, and the sound is super clean, making it a joy to interact with.

However, having the game trigger that “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your computer?” message is a bit scary for a jam game. A simple, portable zipped .exe that doesn't trigger UAC prompt would be much more reassuring for players. That aside, it’s a great twist on the theme, and once you get past that initial hurdle, it’s an enjoyable experience. Nice work!

Contaminant delivers a tense and atmospheric point-and-click adventure that really captures those classic alien vibes. The eerie setting on a Mars base, combined with the rapidly spreading tentacles, creates a sense of urgency and suspense that keeps you on edge.

The gameplay is intriguing, but I’m not sure if I missed something—the door seems to open just as the alien reaches me, and I’ve ended up dying every time. If that’s intentional, it definitely amps up the tension, but it’s a bit frustrating not knowing if I’m doing something wrong or if it’s just part of the challenge.

Overall, it’s a well-crafted experience that nails the creepy, horror atmosphere. Great job!

Gobba Ladder is a hilarious game with a great sense of humor! The concept of being a construction goblin scaling a ladder while trying to escape a cranky dragon is just fantastic. The visuals are super polished and the very thorough tutorial does a great job of getting you up to speed quickly.

One thing I’d love to see is an indication of how high the ladder can go—maybe a sound cue or ensuring that platforms aren’t placed just pixels out of reach. It can be frustrating to go for a big move and miss by just a couple of pixels. That aside, the game is a blast to play. Awesome work!

Gobba Ladder is a hilarious game with a great sense of humor! The concept of being a construction goblin scaling a ladder while trying to escape a cranky dragon is just fantastic. The visuals are super polished and the very thorough tutorial does a great job of getting you up to speed quickly.

One thing I’d love to see is an indication of how high the ladder can go—maybe a sound cue or ensuring that platforms aren’t placed just pixels out of reach. It can be frustrating to go for a big move and miss by just a couple of pixels. That aside, the game is a blast to play. Awesome work!